Some Edmonton services saw impacts during Microsoft outage
Posted July 19, 2024 4:11 pm.
Last Updated July 20, 2024 9:59 am.
Thursday night’s outages were experienced across the globe, affecting services from airlines to phones.
With the outages beginning late Thursday night, many people trying to fix the problem didn’t get any sleep.
READ MORE: Widespread tech outage that disrupted global flights, banks, companies now resolved: Microsoft
“I would say the zoom filter is doing a really good job with the bags under my eyes,” said Ron Anderson, the chief innovation & technology officer with the Edmonton Police Service.
One of the main services affected in Edmonton was 911 dispatch. Edmonton police spoke to the media Friday afternoon after the 911 lines faced problems all evening. Calls were either being dropped or not even making it through to operators. But EPS says no calls were missed Thursday evening.
“The only thing that was affected was our voice-over IP calling handling system, which is provided through our vendor in the 911 centre.”
Edmonton police say this isn’t the first time they’ve faced issues with the system, which helped them navigate through the evening.
“There was one back in 1990 as well, so it is a very rare occurrence. But it is something we prepare for and do practice for major issues like this,” said Anderson.
Speaking with the Edmonton International Airport Friday, they told CityNews the outage had little effect on flights.
Alberta Health Services says dispatch lines were affected for EMS, but patient care was not.
